If you’re like me and watched the Game Awards, you were most likely shocked by the reveal that the first confirmed DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros Ultimate is Persona 5‘s Joker. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of Persona 5, I can’t deny that reveal was pure genius. Joker feels like the perfect fit for the roster. So I started thinking, “who else would be a good surprise for the remaining four DLC characters?”

Before we start, I set out to do this with a specific set of criteria:

• Nintendo specified the DLC characters would be characters from franchises you wouldn’t expect. So we’ve made our list assuming they’re all coming from third-party franchises.
• We aren’t repeating any characters from our previous Super Smash Bros Ultimate character wishlist, nor any characters that are currently assist trophies.
• We’re limiting it to video game characters; therefore excluding Popeye, even though he’d make make sense given his importance to Nintendo’s earlier years.

 

Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil franchise)

Leon Kennedy is the character with the highest chance of being added to the roster. As patterns would suggest, Capcom enjoys sharing their characters, as they already feature two main fighters plus an echo fighter in Ken, as well as Monster Hunter‘s Rathalos.

Mega Man, Street Fighter and Monster Hunter series all appear in Smash. There’s just one of their franchises missing: Resident Evil. Given the franchise’s history on Nintendo consoles, Leon is almost a surefire choice.

Between Jill Valentine, Chris “I Punch Rocks For Kicks” Redfield and Leon Kennedy because he’s the star of the former Gamecube exclusive Resident Evil 4, as well as the star of the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake. You could even throw in some of the dumbest zombie moments from Resident Evil 6, like a bazooka-wielding armored zombie, as part of his Final Smash. One can dream.

 

Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden franchise)

Isn’t it weird that Super Smash Bros features dozens of regular sword-wielding characters but the franchise doesn’t feature an actual ninja? Sheik is a ninja of sorts and Greninja could count, but the franchise doesn’t feature a classic depiction. Ninja Gaiden‘s Ryu Hayabusa is easily the most famous ninja in gaming. It’s about time for him to show up. He has appeared many times in Nintendo consoles over the years, from the first three Ninja Gaiden games on the NES to Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge on the Wii U.

It’s weird that the only Koei Tecmo character that appears in Smash is one Fatal Frame character restricted to an assist trophy? It would be weird for the company to partner up with Nintendo just for that. Hayabusa is a heavy contender.

 

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider franchise)

Super Smash Bros is supposed to be a celebration of gaming in its entirety, right? If that’s true, then this celebration should feature the single most famous female character in gaming? Make way for Ms. Croft! Despite Lara previously acting as an unofficial mascot for the original Playstation, she has appeared a few times in Nintendo platforms in the past. She did show up on the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube and Wii. That’s a lot more than Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud, and yet he’s appeared twice in Smash.

Thanks to her assortment of weapons and gadgets, coming up with a move set for Lara wouldn’t be too hard. Her dual pistols and a grappling hook would be mandatory, as well as some wacky supernatural mumbo-jumbo as her Final Smash.

Doomguy (Doom franchise)

From all FPS protagonists who have appeared in Nintendo consoles over the years, Doomguy is arguably the most iconic. The Doom Marine has appeared once on the SNES, once on the Nintendo 64, twice on the Game Boy Advance and once on Switch. That’s way more than Joker or Cloud. His arsenal can be the basis for an insane move list, and the ruins of the UAC factory on Mars are perfect for a stage full of platforms and potential demonic invasions. Bethesda and Nintendo’s current honeymoon needs to culminate on Doomguy’s inclusion on Smash.

 

Viewtiful Joe

Viewtiful Joe started off as a Gamecube exclusive back in 2003. It was widely acclaimed by critics and fans to the point it received a sequel and two later spin-offs. It even got an anime adaptation in 2004. Even though Viewtiful Joe hasn’t received a new entry since 2006, its titular character ended up being in Marvel vs. Capcom 3‘s roster.

Adapting Joe to the Smash universe wouldn’t be a hard task since one of the franchise’s spinoffs was actually a Smash clone. His move set could include his trademark slow-motion and speed-up abilities, and his Final Smash could either feature his stronger “zoom” power or an actual giant mecha.

To be fair, the sole fact he could utter “henshin a go-go, baby!” as one of his taunts is already enough to make Joe a contender for a spot in the coveted Smash DLC run.

 

Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza franchise)

Yes, it is a weird choice for a character, but hear me out. When you think of Sega, the first franchise that naturally comes to mind is Sonic. So far, so good. When you think of Sega, what’s the second franchise that comes to mind? If your answer is Yakuza, then you’re right.

The Yakuza series has been huge in Japan for a while, but only now has it finally become a mainstream hit in the Western market thanks to titles like Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. Adding the franchise’s protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, to the roster wouldn’t be just an interesting pick from a pop culture standpoint, but also a genius move financially-wise. Everyone in Japan would buy that character in a millisecond and a lot of Westerners would follow suit. The fact that the character is a martial artist and the franchise is known for being completely over-the-top would ease the process of coming up with a brand new move set for Kiryu-chan.

Another interesting thing is that, contrary to popular belief, the Yakuza franchise has already appeared in a Nintendo console. Both Yakuza and Yakuza 2 have been released for the Wii U in Japan only. That’s a lot more than Cloud.

 

Crono (Chrono Trigger)

Crono, the protagonist of Chrono Trigger, is widely regarded as one of the best JRPGs ever made. We know Square can often be stingy with older characters but we saw a PC release of Chrono Trigger not so long ago. They know Chrono Trigger is still beloved by many, even though they don’t milk the franchise as hard as they do with anything Final Fantasy VII-related.

Adding Crono to Smash would be easy. He’s a swordsman with access to magic powers and a time-travelling spaceship. Coming up with stages, moves, and a Final Smash would be a piece of cake. Not to mention that character packs will also include songs from the original franchise. That would also mean that Chrono Trigger‘s potentially re-recorded soundtrack would be added to Smash‘s music player mode.

Steve (Minecraft franchise)

There are rumors about the possible inclusion of a Microsoft-owned character on Smash. While I’d love for Banjo to be included in the game, something tells me that the Microsoft-owned character in question would actually be Minecraft‘s Steve. Like it or not, the blocky miner is everywhere thanks to the game’s continued popularity and Minecraft has been playable on Nintendo consoles for a while.

While far from our first pick, Steve’s inclusion would provide us with a neat Minecraft-themed level, one that could possibly feature buildings being created and demolished as the fights went on, as well as creepers to blow players up. The Ender Dragon could easily be featured in Steve’s Final Smash.

 

Who would be your picks? Do you think Banjo still has a chance? Leave your thoughts below!